WASHINGTON – Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) – chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and sponsor of the Sequestration Transparency Act – issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s statement on sequestration: “The sequester was President Obama’s idea—he proposed it and he insisted it be a part of the 2011 debt limit deal. House Republicans have voted twice to replace the arbitrary and harmful sequestration cuts with targeted, common-sense spending reductions that do not threaten our national security. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats rejected those plans, offering no replacement solutions of their own. “While it is encouraging to see that the president now agrees that his sequestration plan is ‘harmful’ and ‘economically damaging,’ his call for higher taxes on hard-working American families will only serve to discourage economic growth. “To create the kind of healthy economy the American people want and deserve, we must reform our tax code and stop out of control Washington spending.”